Making a Real Difference
Since 2014, Bunker Labs has been on a mission to help veterans and military spouses realize their entrepreneurial dreams.
Real Stories
Conversations with cohort members fundamentally changed the way I was thinking about what I wanted out of my business and my experience in it. These connections inspired me to make some new moves.
Thank you Bunker Labs for the incredible mentoring, support, connections, and ecosystem. Being in the Veterans in Residence program was precisely what my business needed to take flight!
Bunker Labs not only provided me with a pathway to success through their resources and connections, but gave me the confidence to relentlessly scale my business.
Join the Fight & Donate Today
We’re making progress, but we’d be stronger with your support. We rely on those who have found value in our programs and supporters of our mission to empower Bunker Labs to:
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- Sustain and grow our many Bunker Labs communities in cities across the nation
- Train our Ambassador Corps to facilitate our flagship Veterans in Residence program and grow their local business ecosystem
- Create more opportunities for funding, recognition, and networking for Bunker Labs entrepreneurs and alumni
- Reach more veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs about the value of our community
- Continue to refine, improve, and adapt our programs to best serve Bunker Labs entrepreneurs in today’s economy
Select the amount you’d like to give, and we’ll put your dollars to work helping Veteran and Military Spouse entrepreneurs right away.
Real Impact
Each year at Bunker Labs, we help over a thousand Veteran and Military Spouse entrepreneurs through our free programs. We provide a community of peers they can lean on for support, motivation, and solutions to the challenges their businesses face.
Our programming works. Bunker Labs has collectively helped entrepreneurs:
- Add over 4,250 jobs to the economy
- Generate over $823 million in revenue
- Raise $244 million in startup capital
Real Impact
Each year at Bunker Labs, we help over a thousand Veteran and Military Spouse entrepreneurs through our free programs. We provide a community of peers they can lean on for support, motivation, and solutions to the challenges their businesses face.
Our programming works. Bunker Labs has collectively helped entrepreneurs:
- Add over 4,250 jobs to the economy
- Generate over $823 million in revenue
- Raise $244 million in startup capital
For all the good we’re doing, it’s still an uphill battle to make entrepreneurship more accessible to those Veterans and Military Spouses who want it. In the wake of World War II, nearly half of Veterans went on to open businesses upon coming home. Only 5.6% do so today, despite nearly a quarter of Veterans expressing interest in starting a business.
Real Challenges
There are many barriers to entrepreneurship Veterans and Military Spouses face today, among them:
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- Denied Capital Access: Veterans are denied financing more often, and when they do get financing they’re less likely to get financed for the full amount sought.
- Social Barriers: 75% of Veteran entrepreneurs report a lack of business contacts, mentors, and key connections being a major hurdle to launching and growing their business, exacerbated by frequent relocation demanded by military life, something Military Spouses experience just as frequently.
- Isolation: Veterans and Military Spouses have unique experiences that many feel makes it harder to merge into traditional entrepreneurial networks. This isolating effect can exacerbate mental health challenges and make entrepreneurship harder.
Bunker Labs Commitment
Bunker Labs is committed to transparency, inclusivity, and authenticity. We seek to create a sense of belonging and goodwill in every relationship we form, whether with entrepreneurs, small business owners, community partners, or funders.
Guidestar awards Gold Seals of Transparency to nonprofit organizations that publicly share financial data, leadership and demographic information, program information, and more.
Our Impact
Learn about the impact Bunker Labs has on Veteran and Military Spouse entrepreneurs in communities across the country.
Our National Partners
